Saturday, March 17, 2007

This post is coming at the end of a long winter (at least I'm praying it's the end, that theory has yet to be proven) and with the dry, cold, frigid weather my hands look scary. Not quite to the level of the Wicked Queen in Snow White, all knobby-knuckly and veiny, but still a sad state.

As a cure, when I was living in North Dakota I discovered Camille Beckman's glycerin hand therapy at a boutique and from the first drops fell in love. It must be the high glycerin content but this lotion is perfect for dry skin--it's thick and rich, the moisture locks in for hours and it's not greasy. I bought little pots to get me through the winters there and when we moved to Alaska I found it sold at Bagoy's florist. They've since discontinued it and now I can only find it online.

I ran out a while ago and recently got around to ordering more. Over the years she's added more scents and I noticed a new one labeled "Lime Leaves." Being a lime-lover I grabbed a 8-ounce jar, my usual size, and proceeded to check out ($14.00 plus $5.05 for shipping). When it came three days later I eagerly opened the jar and began liberally applying cream to my pathetic claws. It was then the smell hit me. Lime leaves? No way, it smelled like men's cologne. Strong men's cologne.

So now I'm stuck with Man Hands. Until my new order arrives with another softer, more feminine scent I need the lotion enough that I'm still using it--sparingly--but I'm worried what people in the check out line at Walmart are thinking of the odd woman wearing Old Spice.

I noticed Camille Beckman's site has a Fragrance Guide which is helpful for telling you how strong a scent is but it doesn't warn you that Lime Leaves will make you think you've been hit with an Brut bomb. So here I am, your friendly neighborhood blogger, begging you to try her products but to be careful of which scents you buy. I can recommend Camille, Lillian, English Lavender, French Vanilla, Gardenia, White Lilac and Rosewater. I haven't made my way around to some of the new ones like Pink Grapefruit, Rozalia, Silver Butterfly, Persian Turquoise, Violette, Mango Beach, Orange Cream, Elizabelle, Hyacinth Bluebell and Jade Dragonfly. She also carries an unscented variety.

So what about you? Whether you're living with snow and ice or sun and surf, inside bathing kids or outside swimming in the pool your skin gets dry and chapped. What do you use? Have you found anything you love?

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comments:

I had a favorite handcream from the Body Shop, it was very light pink cream, not greasy at all, made with aubepine, the scent was floral but not too strong. They don't make it anymore and I haven't found a new favorite, yet.

I have developed a sensitivity to scented lotions,unfortunately, so now I'm stuck to using unscented ones. I'm using hypoallergenic,perfume-free,lanolin-free,non-greasy GLAXALL BASE. Sometimes it smells "antiseptic-ky" =P but it does work & keeps my skin moisturized specially in this drying winter. I wouldn't mind some of the Victoria Secret lotions/creams if not for this darn allergic reaction!

I like the hemp cream from the Body Shop (even though it doesn't smell very good) and Badger Balm (even though it's terribly greasy). Lately I've been using a 10% glycolic acid lotion on the backs of my hands that has made them nice and soft, but unfortunately they're still kind of crepe-y looking.

I'm intrigued by your recommendation… I remember the first year my thumbs cracked open in the cold like my mother's used to do. Talk abot feeling old! Despite periodically trying more romantic products, so far my favorite is still the old standby Neutrogena Norwegian formula.

My husband works with a lot of paper, and his hands get cracked and dry from the paperdust. He uses Papermate, a light lotion that does not leave any greasy spots on paper. It is unscented. We found it at an art supplies store.

When my hands get badly cracked, most lotions burn, so I use the kids' Baby Magic instead.

I absolutely love Camille Beckman! I first discovered it when a rep came into the department store I worked in. I tried the vanilla sample and raved about it to our buyer who wasn't there that day. They've carried it ever since.

I also have some Avon intensive moisture therapy hand cream that I love. It is nice and thick, but it's not too greasy to use on my face, too. I can even use it on my son who has eczema and it doesn't irritate him at all.

I can not stand greasy lotion! It is one of my pet peeves. I mostly like the Keri lotion, but only the red bottle one. I might have to indulge and try one of these pots of gold. Although the older I get, the more I find I like unscented things. Maybe I am boring :)?!?

Michelle - there is a little crafting co-op on the bottom level of the 5th Ave Mall that carries Camille Beckman. I've been buying it there for years. And, I've tried their pink grapefruit, orange cream and mango and they're all great. I like the fruity scents better than the floral ones.

Flexitol hand cream for "very dry hands" does it for me. It smells a bit medicinal, but it heals my cracked and bleeding hands like nothing else. I think it might be from Australia, but I get it right at my local pharmacy.

I am a fan of Nivea, but it was too heavy for my face. The last time we were in Germany, I found something called Nivea soft and bought one used some and went the next day and bought 6 more. They recently started carrying it here, and I was a bit more excited than I maybe should have been!

Oh I love Camille Beckman. My favorite is the Vanilla and the Orange Cream. I love the smell on both. Thanks for posting this I will have to make sure I have that kind of thing for when we move. I also use magic hands from mary kay that stuff works really well but a little bit greasy if you use to much.

i switch lotions all the time, but i am a fan of the Inis lotion that comes w/ the perfume. For when my skin gets really bad though, I use Aquaphor. It's more like a vaseline (it's for baby's diaper rashes) but it's amazing. my old boss reccommended it to me when I had "cold-nose" and i put a little dab on and immediately my dry cracked nose was healed. it's amazing. it lasts forever too. the 3 oz. tube i bought my senior year of college (2003/4) is just running out now. they don't sell it here so my friend is bringing me some when she visits.

I'd have to say my very favourtite skin product is one I use on my lips, a very soothing and tingly balm, but that isn't its intended purpose. I bought it at one of those lingerie and ahem- adult toy home parties. It's called Nipple Nectar! The party lady told us about using it as lip balm. I just peeled the label off and it sits in the bathroom. The whole family loves it!

I've used the old stand-by Neutrogena Norwegian Formula for years too, but only in the unscented version, which I can still find -- but isn't in every drugstore here. I also like Nivea products, mainly their body lotion, which is reasonably priced.

I have to avoid overly-scented stuff too; I think I've inherited allergies and sensitivities from my mom...

Overall product-wise, I couldn't go without my Smith's Rosebud Salve -- not only is it a great lip balm at night, but I use it on chapped skin, particularly on my nose when I've had a cold and been blowing it in tissues for days! I think you can find it on-line...

Just recently I discovered Tropical Traditions moisturizing cream and it works great! http://tropicaltraditions.com/skincare.htmIt is initially greasy because it doesn't contain any alcohols to cause it to absorb quickly, but it does sink in after a minute and does not continue to be greasy (alcohol actually dries out skin anyway.)

I've been using L'Oreal Future E as a facial cream and I actually mix it with my foundation to make a tinted moisturizer. They recently discontinued Revlon Skinlights so I went and bought up 3 bottles on Ebay to make sure I don't run out for a while, plus the Future E stretches it so it lasts longer. It has no oil so it's really nice for my skin.

Sometime ago I thought, I had rather dry hands, and no amount of cream from the body shop was doing anything good. Then one day, I mentioned it offhand to a doctor friend of mine, he had a look, and declared...heck you got fungal growth on your hands! Jeez...